#tag
MVP & Prototyping
Building the smallest thing that tests your idea.
3 guides · 1 tools · 16 books
Simple guides
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
The smallest version of your product that lets you learn whether you're on the right track.
Product discovery & the four risks
Before building, check four risks: will they buy it, can they use it, can we build it, and does it work for the business?
The design sprint
A five-day process to go from a big question to a tested prototype with real customers.
Free tools
Essential sources
Books in the library
Growth Hacking
Spanish-language book on growth hacking that teaches a systematic, fast-paced experimentation method to grow businesses (physical or digital). Reviews highlight its value for startup founders and marketers who already know some digital marketing and UX and want to level up their skills, complementing frameworks like Scrum, Sprint, and Lean Startup to build high-performing, innovative companies.
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
by Michael E. Gerber
Michael Gerber urges founders to systemize operations via franchise prototypes, escaping technician traps for scalable pivots without owner dependence. Core personalities framework for business-building; operational maturity vs Porter's competitive positioning.
Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days
by Jake Knapp & John Zeratsky & Braden Kowitz
A practical guide to the Design Sprint methodology created at Google, offering a unique five-day process for solving tough problems and testing new ideas quickly.
How to Transform Your Ideas into Software Products
by Poornima Vijayashanker
This book by Poornima Vijayashanker provides practical advice for ideation and prototyping, making it an essential read for those looking to turn ideas into successful software products. It's particularly useful for startups aiming to get new projects off the ground quickly.
The Lean Product Playbook
by Dan Olsen
The Lean Product Playbook: How to Innovate with Minimum Viable Products and Rapid Customer Feedback by Dan Olsen is a guide for startup founders on how to apply lean principles to product development, ensuring that products meet customer needs effectively.
The Lean Product Playbook: How to Innovate with Minimum Viable Products and Rapid Customer Feedback
by Dan Olsen
Dan Olsen's hands-on guide to building products customers love, providing a repeatable process for achieving product-market fit using lean startup principles.
The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses
by Eric Ries
Eric Ries’s influential methodology book for startups, introducing concepts like validated learning, build‑measure‑learn loops, and minimum viable products (MVPs) to help founders systematically test ideas and reduce waste while building successful companies.
Sprint
by Jake Knapp & John Zeratsky & Braden Kowitz
Written by Jake Knapp, this book introduces a unique five-day process for solving tough problems and testing new ideas. It's a practical guide for startup teams looking to innovate quickly.
The Two-Week Founder
A startup book that guides aspiring founders through a fast, two‑week process for validating an idea, building an MVP, and preparing to raise funding. It focuses on execution speed, lean experimentation, and practical steps to go from concept to investable startup in days rather than months.
Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making
by Tony Fadell
Unorthodox product management guide for startups from Tony Fadell, covering processes for MVP building, team leadership, and product iteration based on iPod and Nest experiences. Key use cases include rapid prototyping and scaling hardware-software products. Offers a hands-on alternative to theoretical PM books like Inspired.
From App Idea to Business
Step-by-step product management processes for startups transforming app ideas into viable businesses, including MVP development, validation, and launch strategies. Tailored use cases for mobile and software founders covering market fit and monetization. More practical for tech products vs. general PM frameworks like Inspired.
Product Design for the Web
by Randy Hunt
Frameworks and iterative processes for web product management in startups, emphasizing discovery, MVP building, and user-centered design. Use cases focus on rapid learning cycles for web apps and sites. Web-specific complement to broader PM books like Inspired.
Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days
by Jake Knapp & John Zeratsky & Braden Kowitz
Five-day product management sprint process for startups to build and test MVPs, validate ideas via prototyping and user feedback. Developed at Google Ventures for rapid problem-solving. Faster alternative to extended cycles in PM literature like Inspired.
The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How To Restore The Sanity by Alan Cooper
by Alan Cooper
Pioneering product management processes for tech startups emphasizing user-centered design, personas, and goal-directed methods to build effective MVPs. Critiques programmer-driven development and advocates sanity in high-tech products. Foundational text vs. contemporary views in Inspired.
The Sprint Book
by Jake Knapp & John Zeratsky & Braden Kowitz
Authored by Jake Knapp, "The Sprint Book" is a guide to running design sprints, a method for solving problems and testing ideas quickly. It's particularly beneficial for startups looking to innovate and iterate on product designs efficiently.